Psychotic Episode 10: The End of Anger
by Glod
Summary: The Justice League begins to realise the scope of the threat they are facing, while Jay remembers crucial information.
1. Information

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Justice League/ JLU

**Acknowledgments: **Thanks to ChineseIsGreekToMe for beta-reading this episode.

**Pyschotic**

**Information**

The tension around the table was thick. Cut-with-a-knife thick. Everyone was showing some sign of stress. The founding seven were spaced evenly around the circular table, each in their own chair. Jay was leaning against the wall, back from the rest, not entirely sure why she was in on this. The news Batman had just given them…

_To say it's not good is…_

_Inadequate._

"There are outposts on every continent, each manned with powered beings unknown to us. They've been recruited and trained in complete secrecy, and they're so highly disciplined that running operations on this scale is child's play.

"Each outpost is armed, with more ammunition than most countries. Even if they didn't have the powered agents they would still be forces to be reckoned with.

"Their resources are extensive. Space technology is fully available to them. They have an outpost on the moon, small but with the highest level of technology- it may be better than ours. It's impossible to tell how many of the satellites orbiting Earth are under their control, or providing them information. It's highly likely that they have a twenty-four hour surveillance of us already.

"Their agents are professionals. Dedicated, loyal- they're paid well and they believe in the cause. Whether it is brain washing or just very careful recruitment, they are impossible to bribe or distract. The organization is flawless- infiltration is not an option. Those that have tried, for whatever reason, failed.

"It is impossible to track down their headquarters. There is evidence that the continental outposts exist but not where they are. It's impossible to identify which satellites are theirs and who their agents are. It is highly likely that they have infiltrated all levels of government and power in the world.

"It took the Question only hours to piece all of this together once he had the key to it- hours. After months of trying to find even the most insignificant information, one ring with its insignia led him to all this detail in a matter of hours. But it's nothing we can actually use. All we know is that this organization exists, that it is extensive, and that it is poised to destroy us. Despite the relative smallness of the moon we can't even find that outpost – our most advanced scans and our best efforts have yielded nothing. It is either a false lead or their technology is so advanced that they are able to hide their base even from us. I support the second theory.

"The ring was a decoy. It is a lead only to information that they want us to have, information that they want to scare us with. There is nothing we can use against them.

"Their objective is simple. They want to destroy the Justice League."

Batman stopped talking. Silence reigned in the meeting room, everyone around the circular table digesting the information to various degrees of success. The scope of it was appalling. The ring Flash had taken off a mercenary back at Old Maggie Lawrence's house and given to Batman had led to a trail of information that according to Batman was entirely planted. How much of it was true was impossible to tell, how much more there was to find out –

_Tsh. It could be worse. _

"Yeah?" Jay murmured the word, not even caring that she was speaking out loud into a room of total silence. Eyes snapped to look at her, but she ignored them, lost in thought. There was something tickling the back of her minds. All three of them were getting this feeling of knowing something but not being able to pin it down. Something Batman had been saying about 'recruiting'.

Superman cleared his throat, pulling everyone's attention back to him. "How are they planning to destroy the League?"

"This must be linked to Corack." Wonder Woman leaned forward, frowning across at Batman, looking for his agreement. "He has a large corporation with numerous military links, he wants the same thing as this organization, and he has the resources to create it all. The information we pulled from that ring and what we got from researching Corack- there are too many similarities. It's got to be the same thing."

Batman nodded. "Especially since the company that bought up the block with Lawrence's house was a subset of GC Enterprises."

_That's right. Flash mentioned something about some company buying up that area, which is why it was so deserted when we trashed it. _

"We didn't trash it." Jay barely whispered the words, although this still got her a look from Superman, what with his super hearing.

"But there is no conclusive evidence linking Gered Corack with this mysterious organization?" J'onn J'onzz clarified. "The information trails are entirely separate?"

Batman looked vaguely uneasy, as if hating to admit that he couldn't find something out. Everyone took it to mean J'onn was right.

"We can't even properly link Corack to any of the previous attacks." Batman grumbled. "It's all purely coincidental evidence. For all we know someone is framing him."

Hawkgirl quirked an eyebrow at Batman. "That sounds suspiciously like a Question conspiracy theory." Batman shrugged, unable to confirm or deny it.

"Assuming it is him, or whoever engineered the previous two attacks, then they'll likely follow the pattern." Green Lantern pointed out. "Pan-global disasters distracting us from the main area of attack, and then a strike against our weakest point." He glanced uneasily towards Jay when he said this, quickly looking away again.

_Yay. We're now the weakest point._

_I find this difficult to believe. We have previously beat Superman!_

_Psych, I'm not sure you could say we beat him… they didn't really have time to properly warm up. _

_Nevertheless, we held our own. _

Jay smiled bitterly to herself. Regardless of how powerful they were in theory, in practice she always seemed to need saving. She didn't think Green Lantern was too far off, calling her the weakest point. What's more, the little stunt she and Flash had pulled at her previous address in Central City meant that whoever was after them knew she was back in the picture. Since their last attack, they would have been under the impression that she was dead having last been sent floating in the near vicinity of Venus with little hope of rescue.

The fight at her old home in Central City hadn't gone so well. The attackers had got away, not before destroying any evidence of their having been there and leaving no clues as to what they had been doing there in the first place. The debrief had been really brief- they had no idea what was going on. Then Batman had dropped the bomb shell information that he'd unearthed from following the trail of clues around the insignia on the ring Flash had boosted off a mercenary ransacking the house. There was something important about that house. The thought was on the edge of Jay's consciousness. Something about Old Maggie Lawrence that she'd remembered when she'd gone back, but that wasn't coming to her now. Going back was useless- the house was completely destroyed after the fireworks display that had taken place down there.

_Chill out. You know you never remember these things until you stop trying to. _

Silence had once again descended on the room. Everyone was trying to think of a way out of this, to no avail. Even Batman, genius that he was, appeared to be coming up blank, to his apparent frustration.

Superman gave a hefty sigh and pushed back from the table, standing abruptly. "Worrying about this isn't going to help. Batman, you keep working with the Question and see what else you can dig up. The rest of us will keep our eyes out. It's not perfect being able to only react to what this organization does, but if we're all prepared then our reaction will be fast enough to stop whatever they try."

Nods around the table showed everyone's agreement. Even Batman reluctantly agreed to this less-than-ideal plan. There was nothing better to do.

Everyone rose stiffly from the table. The meeting had dragged on, although there had been little in the way of disagreement. There was just so much information to have to take in all at once. The strain was showing on everyone's face.

_Although what was so straining for us I have no idea. We just stood here. _

_Indeed. I fail to understand the necessity of our presence. _

_Psych has a point. They could have sent us out after the debrief. _

"Yeah, but we've been involved in this all the way." Jay murmured her part of the conversation, barely audible even to super-hearing. She was normally a lot more careful about talking out loud to the voices in her head, but it had been a while since she'd last rested and anyway the sound of the others leaving would cover what little noise she made.

_Nothing to do with feeling a little more comfortable here, huh? _

Jay shook her head, although the smugness in her other self's voice was hard to not be irritated at. She always thought she knew everything.

_I do know everything. Admit it – you are way more relaxed here. Maybe something to do with a certain speedy red-suited someone? _

"Hah. As if." Jay growled, still leaning against the wall and staring into the middle distance.

_I do not see the connection between Flash and Jay feeling more comfortable here. _

_Psych, how can you not see a connection? Do I have to spell everything out for you every time?_

_But we are settling down here as our home. We have never been anywhere this long before. In fact, from my observations Flash makes Jay less comfortable, not more so._

_Psych, that's exactly my point. _

_I beg your pardon? That makes no sense at all!_

_Neither does calculus! I don't see you complaining about that!_

_Calculus? Calculus is irrelevant to this conversation! _

Jay smiled softly to herself, listening to the nonsensical bickering in her head. She could always count on those two to lighten any mood. Stretching away from the wall, she made her way out of the now empty meeting room, a thoughtful expression still on her face.


	2. Beep

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Justice League/ JLU

**Pyschotic**

**Beep**

_This totally sucks. _

Jay looked up from where she was crouched under the control room main console, trying to figure out where the beeping was coming from. The stupid machine had started beeping about fifteen minutes into her night shift, and refused to stop. It wasn't any sort of alarm, it wasn't an alert- she couldn't figure out what it was at all. Just another thing to drive her crazy. It had been about a month since her rather disastrous trip back down to Old Maggie Lawrence's house and nothing new had come up. No further information, no change in the world; just a big long month of nothing. Worse, she still had that feeling that she wasn't remembering something important.

_Maybe it'll start speeding up._

"And how would that help?" Jay grumbled.

_Well, at least then we'd know it was a bomb and the countdown was nearly finished._

_Surely we would then be about to be blown up?_

_Yes, Psych, but at this point I'm willing to die just to get that beeping to stop. _

_I am not entirely convinced that it would be worth it._

"Oh shut up. It's not a bomb. How would anyone get a bomb in here?"

_If it is not a bomb then it is an instrument of torture and thus represents malicious intent. Someone needs to die. _

"Whoo, if it was that easy to make you murderous it's a good thing Psychotic is here to keep us on the straight and narrow."

_Was that sarcasm?_

_Well done Psych, you're starting to pick up on these things! _

Jay sat back on her haunches. Short of removing components she couldn't investigate the computer any further. She would remove components, except her education in information technology never extended much into hardware. She'd probably break the thing.

_Please can we break the thing? At least it would stop._

_You cannot say that for sure. Perhaps it would get louder? If it is a sign of malfunction then further damage would only worsen it. _

Jay sighed. A being of interminable logic in your head was never a good thing, even at the best of times. And the incessant noise made this very far from the best of times.

"Well, looks like we may have to actually call someone about this." Jay groaned in defeat. There was no-one who was going to appreciate being woken up to come and fix this. How come these things only ever happened on her watches anyway? She'd never heard of this kind of thing occurring when J'onn was there.

_Maybe if we didn't get given so many night watches these things would happen less often. _

"I volunteer half the time."

_Yes, and we've discussed why that's not such a good idea._

"We're here anyway, may as well be useful." Jay shook her head to clear her mind and then frowned back down at the console. "So, who do we call?"

_Batman? It's his machine._

_Oh yeah, Psych. I so want to have that conversation: "Hello Bats, sorry to disturb, your computer broke. Come fix it. In the middle of the night."_

"It might not be so bad. He is nocturnal."

_But imagine if it's something really stupid? Like we forgot to hit a button when we logged in or something? Can you imagine his face? _

_Are you perhaps nervous of Batman?_

_Nervous is putting it mildly. He terrifies me. _

"I thought he was getting to like us a bit."

_He's still scary. Hello! He's the Batman. He's supposed to be scary! He spends his whole life trying real hard to be scary. It is only sensible to be scared of him. _

_I doubt he would do anything to us; the computer has been beeping for two hours now. Surely calling him is justified?_

_Look, think of someone else._

"Fine. J'onn?"

_Hey, see, now there's an idea. _

_But J'onn is not nocturnal. He may be sleeping. _

_Well, we can't find out unless we call him. _

"We could just spy on him or something."

_The man is _psychic_. Do you not think he might maybe know if we were watching him before we called?_

_Is that a problem?_

_Psych, we've been through this. Repeat after me: spying is bad. _

"Spying is bad."

_You're not supposed to repeat after me, Psych is. I assume you already know spying is bad…_

"No! No- that's it! Spying!" Jay sprang up, the beeping becoming a faint annoyance in the background.

_I am afraid you are making very little sense, Jay._

"No, you idiots! Think! Why'd we hate being at Old Maggie Lawrence's so much?" Jay strode five paces away from the console before whipping around and looking into the middle distance, an expression of excitement on her face. "We always felt like we were being watched!"

_Ye-es. So? _

"So, that's what I've been trying to remember! You know how Batman said this crazy super organization was _recruiting_?"

_Yeah?_

_Um… Jay…_

"Something clicked. I thought there was a link between Maggie Lawrence and this… recruiting. Foster homes! We have all these powered beings that nobody's ever heard of, right? Nobody's ever heard of foster kids! We just disappear off the face of the Earth when we go missing- and nobody _cares_."

_I'm still not following you. What have the hardships of foster care got to do with recruiting for a world-destroying evil organization?_

_Er, Jay? Or Jay? Either one of you. _

"Wouldn't it be the best place to look for these powered beings? Young children and adolescents that you can pick out when they're young and have no control – they'd just have to take them out of foster care, give them somewhere permanent to live. Provided it wasn't boot camp it would be an improvement on the kid's current conditions. It wouldn't have to be luxurious- just somewhere people treated you like you were worth something, cared about you. You could get an education, make friends… and develop an undying loyalty to the organization that took you out of the hell your life had been! It must be what these people were doing!"

_And how did you get there from Old Maggie Lawrence? I don't see your leap of logic._

_I don't mean to be rude, but there's something you may want to listen to here…_

"She was constantly _watching_. It always felt like she expected us to do something, like she was waiting for it! And that feeling we had of cameras and stuff? We're not paranoid, so maybe there was something in that. And she kept us, even though she obviously didn't want to and – yes, Psychotic, what is it?"

_Thank you for your attention, but I did want to point this out: the noise has changed._

_What? _

"This doesn't sound good."

_You have to stop saying stuff like that. I'm running out of understatement awards. _


	3. Accelerator

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Justice League/ JLU

**Pyschotic**

**Accelerator**

Jay frantically activated communication links, trying to work around the worsening noise. What had started as relatively innocent sounding beeps was now a techno beat overlaid with dying cat noises that were doing a number on her remaining bits of eardrum.

_And the worst part is that damn beeping is still going on in the background! _

"And the beeping is completely out of synch. This is torture!"

_I told you so._

_I am inclined to disagree._

_What, that this is torture?_

_No, I agree with that. I disagree that the beeping is the worst thing._

_Oh, do enlighten us. _

_I believe the worst thing is that it seems to be interfering with the communications system. _

Jay couldn't suppress a groan. She'd gone ahead and called Batman, on the basis that he was the creator of this system and also the person most capable of investigating this weird noise. He hadn't answered. That was half an hour ago, and after ten minutes of getting "Unable to execute" messages from the idiot computer she'd just given up and started calling anyone she could think of. So far she'd gone through the founding seven and was now down to such junior members as Stargirl and Speedy, and even their comms weren't working.

"Are you seriously telling me that there is _nobody_ but us on this stupid Watchtower?"

She'd tried to put an intercom announcement calling all hands to the control room, but that hadn't proved too successful. From what little she could tell the intercom was working, but it was now nearly midnight and the place appeared to be deserted.

_I didn't realize it got this empty at night._

"Oh, crap."

_That does not imply anything good._

_Seriously, these understatement awards don't grow on trees._

"An alert just went off. Look!"

Sure enough one of the screens had just started flashing yellow, with 'Yellow Alert' written across it.

_A little redundant, I feel. _

_Well, aren't you going to pull up the details?_

"I really, really don't want to."

Jay could hear a sigh in her head, before the magic infused them and she could feel the sense of unity she always had when they were Psychotic. A tendril of power snaked out and hit the necessary controls to flag up the details.

"I told you I didn't want to." Her voice came out multi-toned, as it always did in this state. But it carried the doom they all felt.

_O-kay. What is a PEP-II collider and why would someone be trying to steal it? _

Jay didn't have to think twice before the magic snaked out to another screen and started searching for information on the PEP-II collider. Link up to the internet was totally off (which she had discovered in a last ditch attempt to e-mail Batman), but the banks of information on the Watchtower system were more than adequately instructive about the particle collider in California which had been shut down earlier in the year. Apparently the pieces from these giant physics experiments were the scrap equivalent of platinum, and could be re-used for anything from medical machines to smaller experiments and new particle accelerators.

_This still doesn't explain why someone would want to steal this. _

"Well, normally it's impossible to sell because steel mills are so worried about radioactive contamination, but I could think of one world-spanning organization that could probably put it to use."

_But this is an enormous piece of equipment. Surely the local authorities are aware this theft is occurring?_

Jay pulled up local police reports, only half of which made it over the severely malfunctioning connection. "Doesn't seem like they're aware, from what little we've got. Our system only picked it up as a yellow alert because there's a big helicopter where no big helicopter should be."

_And yellow just means "Hey, is this supposed to happen? Because if it is, forget I bothered you."_

"The Watchtower is the only monitoring system that would flag up something this low priority, so we have to assume nobody planet side is aware this is happening."

There was a general silence from the three girls.

_This means what I think it means, right?_

"I think so."

_I would like to take this opportunity to point out that all times we have ventured in on our own it has not gone well for us. _

_Duly noted Psych._

"Anyway, it might be a moot point. If the communication systems are down, what's to say the teleporter works?"

_True. Someone who has gone to the trouble of disabling our communication will probably have taken the time to neutralize the teleporter. _

_Incidentally, how did they get this stupid noise up here? _

"I don't know. The Watchtower has been infiltrated before, but nothing suspicious has happened recently and they did get a bit stricter with security. It shouldn't be possible."

_Unless it works like a jamming frequency._

"How do you mean?"

_They could be sending some sort of signal through our systems. We are wired up to the internet and about a trillion satellites. _

They all contemplated this in silence for while.

"We could go dark for a minute."

_It would have the added advantage of signaling distress to Batman and others who are paying attention from the planet. _

_But since the signal would still be coming through it would probably only clear the systems for 30 seconds, max. _

"Enough for us to teleport if we do it as soon as systems are go again, and if we've already programmed in the destination."

_It is likely that once we are on Earth the communicator will work again, if we call direct to another._

_Whoever is jamming us will probably notice as well. They'll get a warning that we're coming._

"We'll have to risk it. Unless there are any other ideas?"

Silence.

"Right then. Here goes."

Psychotic levitated across to the teleporter console and programmed in Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California where the accelerator was located. A return to the console to key in the password for a systems shutdown, and they were good to go. She positioned herself above the teleportation pad and then used a tendril of magic to set the shutdown going. Then it was just a matter of waiting.

_How does the anti-gravity thing work if the system is totally shut down, anyway?_

"Isn't it on another system?"

_I don't know. Maybe they should have told us when they gave us the password._

An electronic voice announced across the Watchtower that systems shutdown was in five seconds.

_Why did they give us a password anyway?_

"We really, really have to stop thinking at times like these. We're switching straight back on anyway."

_Surely it takes a little while to get going?_

_We are about to find out._

The Watchtower went completely dark as the voice countdown hit zero.

_He-ey. We're not falling! Bonus! _

Psychotic lashed out with a spike of magic and hit the series of buttons necessary to reactivate.

Lights flickered back on, the main console flashed up with small red LEDs and background whirring. Psychotic kept her multi-hued eyes locked on the teleporter console, a tendril of magic poised to activate the switch as soon as the thing looked like it was _thinking_ about powering up.

A small light flickered on the console, Psychotic whipped down with the magic…

And they were planetside.

---

Psychotic hit the ground running.

Or would have, if she was actually running, but since she was flying…

_Well, it's an expression. _

Already on the communicator, she was frantically trying to get through to Batman as she made full speed to where she could see the oversized helicopter starting to lift away with what appeared to be a giant block of metal attached to it via a hundred cables. Instinctively Psychotic sent out a bolt of magic to try to snap those cables. Odds were she didn't want these people getting this accelerator, and since it had been shut down anyway she didn't figure damaging it would break too many hearts.

_The hell with it, the Justice League will cover the damages anyway. They always do. _

The helicopter did something that Psychotic had been really hoping it wouldn't. In a flash of blinding white it disappeared and then reappeared in almost the same place, seconds after her bolt had passed harmlessly by.

_Oh no. Him again._

"I am really starting to hate him."

"Hello?" Batman's surly voice came through on the communicator just as a missile launched itself at Psychotic. Putting up a solid shield, Psychotic answered in relief.

"Batman! Am I glad to hear your voice! Listen, we have a situation!"

"You switched off the Watchtower and you're calling that a 'situation'?" Superman's incredulous voice joined in over the system.

_Told you they'd notice. _

"Yeah, not the biggest issue. Someone's stealing a super-collider in California. Please help."

"What?"

"Someone is stealing a super-collider in California. The PEP-II." Psychotic explained patiently while sending a bolt at the irritating shooter of missiles. She then turned her attention back to the helicopter which was making some good progress considering it was carting around so much scrapped collider.

_You know, it may have been more sensible to lay low and see where they go. _

_It may have been. But we didn't think of that before did we now?_

_It would have been pointless. He is a teleporter. Doubtless he would teleport to his destination to avoid being followed._

_There you have it. Psychotic makes sense again. _

_Look can we concentrate? It's hard having two conversations AND a fight at the same time. _

They whipped their attention back in time to hear Batman say Superman was on his way. Meanwhile a barrage of artillery was doing its level best to make it through her outer shield, and preventing her from following the helicopter with any success.

Psychotic shot a series of bolts in desperation, trying to stagger their timing and direction to make it harder to dodge. She couldn't fly any nearer thanks to the army level fire power they were throwing at her.

_Please let Superman be here soon…_

She'd barely finished the sentence before a sonic boom heralded Superman's entry on to the scene. He barreled through the snipers and bazookas and whatever else they were using to shoot at her and zeroed in on the helicopter.

Which vanished in its customary blinding white.

There was another flash almost immediately, followed by one from down near the ground. A third flash and all the gunmen and guns were also gone.

Superman and Psychotic were left hovering above the empty space where half a mile of linear accelerator had been dismantled and removed.


	4. Trust

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Justice League/ JLU

**Pyschotic**

**Trust**

"Wait, so you didn't notice an entire 2-mile particle accelerator being stolen?"

"It was only half a mile of it that was being stolen." Jay grumbled, as Flash stared at her incredulously. They were back in the meeting room, the founding seven sitting in their usual seats, evenly spaced around the table. Jay stood at the bottom end, opposite Superman, staring at the tabletop in embarrassment.

"Oh, only half a mile. That's different then." Jay could just tell Flash was rolling his eyes, and her embarrassment shot up another level.

"Look, the system didn't even notice anything unusual until the helicopter showed up." When in doubt, blame the computer.

"Nobody is blaming you, Jay." Superman assured her. "I am sure what Flash is trying to express is his amazement that our system failed to register the theft until it was too late." This said with a glare at Flash.

_Although since this is Superman, his glares are about as scary as a bunny slipper. _

_I would personally find Superman at least as threatening as Batman._

Jay rolled her eyes, unable to help it. The voices in her head were just so ridiculous sometimes.

"I'm more concerned about the interference with our communications. Jay is probably right in thinking it's a signal, but the Watchtower should be immune to that sort of thing. We'll have to get someone on to that." Batman seemed to be thinking out loud with this statement.

Superman sat back down in defeat.

"They're getting better at avoiding us, as well. This last plan- we didn't have time to do anything." Hawkgirl spat out, clearly disgusted at being played so thoroughly.

"So much for reacting quickly. These people have us completely figured out." Green Lantern banged his fist down on the table. "How do they know so much about us?"

Silence met this question. Nobody had an answer. Jay just kept quiet, since she had the sinking feeling that she had somehow messed up.

_We didn't mess up. This was a well executed plan, and we were just the victims of it._

"Yeah, but it always seems to happen to us." Jay hadn't been thinking as she'd mumbled this, and said it a bit louder than she'd intended. In the silence of the meeting room it rang out like the peal of a bell.

"That is true." Batman's eyes narrowed on her as he said this. He leaned forward in his chair.

Jay took an involuntary step back. "Hey, I don't ask for it!"

"We know, Jay." Superman was playing the reassuring father figure again.

Unfortunately counteracted by Wonder Woman's Suspicious Investigator role as she cut in with, "Do we really?"

"Are you trying to suggest that Jay is part of these schemes?" J'onn demanded of Wonder Woman.

Wonder Woman leant back with her arms out in a pacifying gesture. "She said it herself, these things always seem to happen when she's on watch. You tell me if there's a link."

Everyone looked at Jay, who took another step back. She could feel her heart breaking, but she refused to let it show.

"I would never do anything to undermine the Justice League, and I certainly wouldn't plot to destroy the world, or whatever this organization is doing!" Jay defended herself.

"But you would say that." Hawkgirl pointed out, mildly. Green Lantern gave her an exasperated glare from where he sat beside her.

"Hey, hey, hey, stop ganging up on her!" Flash cut in heatedly. "She didn't do anything but try to help. It's just coincidence these things seem to keep happening to her."

Not everyone looked convinced. Jay could feel the rage building up inside her. All that hard work, all her effort to get them to trust her and they could still come back with something like this? If she had anywhere to go, she'd storm right out.

_Speaking of, don't you think we should tell them about that epiphany you had? You know, before we leave._

_What epiphany?_

_The Old-Maggie-Lawrence- is- a-spying-recruitment-officer-for-this-organization theory?_

"Oh yeah." Jay murmured.

"Oh yeah what?" Wonder Woman snapped.

Jay glared at her before remembering who she was and where she was standing. Junior members of the Justice League were not supposed to glare at Wonder Woman.

"I had a thought about the recruitment of powered beings that Batman was talking about at the last meeting. I could tell you, or maybe you'd think it was just planted information from me, the super double-agent." This last Jay spat out with a glare around the whole table. She couldn't help it. Wonder Woman looked abashed, but didn't look down. Everyone else seemed to take this suggestion with the contempt it so obviously deserved.

"We know you're not a double agent, Jay. Please tell us what you think." Superman's voice was starting to sound on the strained side of patient.

"It's just a theory. I always felt like I was being spied on in Old Maggie's house. When Batman said something about their powered soldiers being recruited and trained in complete secrecy – it occurred to me that there's a whole population of young, malleable minds who nobody notices if they disappear. Considering how many thousands of foster kids there are in the system, and the incidence of powered beings, the odds are that you could find a decent number of supers from these kids. Take them somewhere nice, give them a home- you'd become their family. Family's the one thing they're desperate to have, and they'd never betray it. So you have your incredibly loyal soldiers right there.

"Considering the scope of this organization, infiltrating the foster care system would be simple. Just have a few foster carers per area, as many as you could manage, and with a changeover rate of six months or so, you could get through quite a lot of kids, depending on how many each foster parent takes in. If the 'parent' reports back when they suspect they have a kid with powers… well, you could see how it would work."

Wonder Woman shook her head in disbelief. "How could you draw such a conclusion? Where's your evidence?"

"It's just a hunch, really." Jay shrugged uncomfortably. "I don't actually have any evidence. It made sense to me."

"I'll look into it." Batman said, though his expression suggested he was thinking about looking into more than just the foster care system. It made Jay really nervous.

_Told you he was scary. _

"Fine, well, that's all I really had to say. If you're done with me, may I go now?" Jay blurted out, desperate to get away from the tension in the room. Between their suspicions and their silence she was about ready to curl up in a corner and cry.

Superman nodded thoughtfully. Jay didn't wait for him say anything, just turned and legged it out of there.

---

Jay strode along the corridors, paying no attention to where she was going. Her mind was just a tired blur after the adrenaline rush of the last few hours.

_Don't forget the mentally traumatic experience of that beeping. We've been tortured._

Jay couldn't even work up any amusement for her other self's silliness. She was tired. It wasn't just the fighting and the adrenaline – and yes, two hours of audio torture- it was knowing that after a year of busting her butt for the Justice League they could still turn around and accuse her of betraying them. They'd let Shayera back in after she did something far worse than lose her temper and her control, but a completely innocent struggling teenager… oh yeah, she definitely had to be selling them out!

_Chillax, man. They're all stressed out too. _

_Indeed Jay. They have just had their weakness made very clear to them. _

_Yeah, what Psych said. They're the Justice League. I'm sure it's not easy for them knowing someone's taking them for a ride. _

Jay shook her head and didn't grace any of this with an answer. It wasn't worth the effort. She was just going to collapse into bed, and hopefully when she woke up…

_Maybe I'll be back in foster care where the worst we had to worry about was being found out._

_Whoa, you're really upset if you're wishing for that._

_Indeed, Jay. From what I gather from your memories, even this is not as bad as foster care. _

_See? Psych thinks foster care is worse! And she's, well, psychotic._

_I truly resent that. I maintain an exemplary level of logic. _

Jay passed the control room, glancing in out of habit. J'onn was already back down there, which just went to show that her route was really convoluted if it had taken her this long to get here. The meeting room was practically down the hall. Tiredly, she turned away, heading back to her room. Since the founding seven were up here they'd probably take over for the night shift- they had to run systems checks and security protocols which would probably take all night. There was nothing she could really help with anyway.

She'd barely taken two steps before a brisk breeze heralded the arrival of Flash. Looking up, Jay found herself facing the red suited speed demon. He was grinning winningly down at her, his devil-may-care attitude firmly in place. She tried her best to keep her cool, but could feel her heart rate pick up tempo.

_Again? Tripping heart beat? Again? What, are we in a Mills & Boon?_

_Shut up, it was just the adrenaline of finding him suddenly here. _

Jay took a self-preserving step back.

_What do you need to preserve yourself from? It is only Flash._

_Psych has a point._

"Uh, yes? Did you want something?" Jay mumbled the words in a rush, desperate to get the conversation going and her other selves' attention off her wayward heart. She cringed at the distinctly romance novel feel of her thoughts.

Flash cocked his head, his smile faltering a little. Jay caught a glimpse of a more serious expression, but before she could place it his grin was firmly back in place.

"Maybe I just wanted to talk to a pretty lady?" Flash quipped, leaning forward and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Jay rolled her eyes, though she was grateful for the icebreaker. She sidestepped around Flash, and kept walking to her room, knowing he'd tag along. "At 3 in the morning?"

"Best time to be talking to pretty ladies." Flash's voice dripped with innuendo. Jay couldn't help laughing. She tried to make it derisive, but it came out mostly amused. It was such a ridiculous conversation, and she knew Flash didn't really mean anything by it.

"No, really. There had to be something."

"Alright, you caught me. There is something." Flash smiled at her to show it wasn't anything too serious. "You work too hard."

"Excuse me?" Jay replied, surprised. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"All work and no play… uh… can't remember the rest, but you get the idea." Flash waved off his poor memory nonchalantly. "I reckon you could do with a break. I'll pick you up at 10 tomorrow morning."

"What?"

"Ten. Don't be late."

"Wait - " It was already too late. He'd zipped off to heaven knew where. Jay was left standing with her mouth open, staring after him in disbelief.

Gales of laughter rang through her head.

_Oh that was beautiful! You have a date! _

"It's not a date!" Jay protested hotly, not even caring that she was practically shouting to herself in a deserted corridor. Who would hear anyway?

_Superman does have super hearing. _

_And it so is a date! You're going on a date with Flash! NOW try telling me there's nothing going on here! _

_There is nothing going on. You're being an idiot. I have no idea what's happening. I'm going to bed, and the both of you can just shut up. And Superman's hearing isn't that good._

_So why aren't you talking out loud?_

Jay stalked into her room, slamming the door, refusing to reply. One day she would find a way to kill the voices in her head, and when she did…

_You'll be freezing on a glacier in what was once hell. Give up, it'll never happen! _


	5. Date

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Justice League/ JLU

**Pyschotic**

**Date**

It took a concerted effort to drag herself out of bed the next morning, especially since her other self was being sickeningly cheerful and insistent that the meeting with Flash was a 'date'. Despite all her protests, Jay wasn't any nearer to convincing her other self to be any less irritatingly girlish. She could just tell it was going to be a long day.

_Days are all the same length. 24 hours, I believe. _

_Oh, not today Psych. I need you to suspend logic. Romance cannot blossom in a logical atmosphere._

"I think I am actually going to hurl. Please don't tell me I have to listen to this rubbish all day?"

_It's not rubbish! It's the truth! Now, what are we going to wear? _

_Is that important?_

_Psych, how can you even ask that?_

_Because I do not know._

_Yes! Yes it is important! We must look our absolute best in order to ensure that we attract Flash._

_From the way I have noticed him looking, I think we have already attracted him._

"Please stop this nonsense."

_We have to consolidate the progress we've already made. Maybe something floral?_

"No bloody flowers. Since when do we wear flowers?"

_I am sure Jay was not suggesting we actually wear flowers. It seems singularly unreasonable. Even for her. _

_Psych, I would start an argument with you, but it's just too nice a day. Do we own any skirts?_

_I believe you bought one recently._

"No damn skirts. I am wearing jeans and a t-shirt."

"No you're not."

_Hey! How'd you- you can't just take over like that!_

"For the length of time it takes to dress us, yes I can."

_Fine then. You can just take the body all day. I'm going away. _

"You sure you want to do that?"

_She is already gone._

"That's ok Psych. Let's get dressed!"

**---**

Jay bounced her way over to the control room, eager to meet up with Flash. She couldn't understand what her other self's problem was. Flash was a great guy – and great looking too, although admittedly she'd never seen him with his mask off, and probably wasn't going to. Still, with a body like that… who cared how his face looked? It made sense- he was a superhero, as her sensible self was forever reminding her. They were obliged to be fit. Just look at herself. She'd toned up beautifully since she'd started at the watchtower.

_I find I prefer having the other Jay in control. Her thoughts are generally more… what is that word you use? Deep?_

Jay shrugged and did her usual job of ignoring Psych. No-one was going to wreck her fun. Especially since she had the most wonderful plan for getting her sensible self to take over the body once they met up with Flash. There was no way her sensible self was avoiding this- any idiot could see that she and Flash were a good match.

_Actually, I am not entirely certain how you came to that conclusion._

_Look Psych, I just know these things, ok? Where is our sensible self anyway?_

_I have not heard the other Jay since she left earlier. I believe she is sulking. _

_You could be right Psych. But not for long. _

Jay let out a malicious little laugh as she entered the control room. She was pleased to see Flash was already there, leaning casually against the control panel beside Batman, who was probably still running security checks. It gave her the satisfaction of seeing his eyes widen in appreciation as she entered. She gave herself a mental pat on the back for her choice in clothing.

_Right, now to implement Plan Forced Takeover. Psych, I'm going to need your help for this._

_I am not certain it will be a very good idea._

_Of course it is! Just do what I tell you! _

_Very well. _

_And whatever happens, you're not allowed to take over! Promise?_

_I do not agree with this plan…_

_Just promise! _

_I promise. _

Jay couldn't help a mischievous smile forming on her lips as she strode up to Flash. He gave an answering smile, although an eyebrow quirked when he noticed her amber eyes, instead of the darker hue he was used to.

"Glad you made it." He said as she reached him.

"Yeah, wouldn't miss it for the world. Show her a good time, ok? And I'm sorry about this." Jay grinned at Flash. Her brow puckered up in a frown of concentration.

_Flux of magic now, please, Psych!_

_Very well, but I don't see how it will…_

The magic energy infused her like a wave, just the like old jolts that used to happen before Psych got out. The ones that let Psych take over, the only thing powerful enough to blow conscious control out of their body.

Their body folded up like a doll as no-one rushed in to take over. Flash caught her easily, bewildered at her sudden loss of consciousness.

---

_What are you doing? _

_No need to shriek. I have no intention of going on _your_ date. _

_So you've just left us unconscious?_

_In Flash's arms. _

_You needn't sound so smug. Psychotic, take over._

_I do apologise Jay, but I promised Jay not to. _

_You did what? Who cares! I said I'm not going, and I'm not. _

_Oh well, then, we're just going to spend all day as a lifeless doll I guess. Pity. _

_What? How could you be so stupid? _

_I'm not stupid. I'm going to go have a nap or something. Enjoy your day._

_Psychotic, please, take control! This is ridiculous._

_Truly Jay, I do not see what the problem is. You are being stubborn. If you will excuse me, I am going to go do some… uh, thinking. _

_Thinking? Thinking? You're both crazy! Completely insane! Where are you going? Come back here! This is insane! Why are you doing this?_

_You better take control soon. I think they're starting to get worried._

_---_

Jay took control with a growl of irritation. She opened her eyes and looked straight into the very concerned face of Flash. To her eternal irritation she couldn't seem to make up her mind whether to be mad, embarrassed, or just really pleased he was so close. Stiffening, she straightened up, nearly head butting Flash as she did so, and stepped forcefully out of his arms. Glaring around, she noticed Batman looking at her with a questioning expression.

_Wonderful. Could this day get any worse?_

There was no answer, rather unusually. It seemed her other self and Psychotic really had just cleared off. Embarrassed, she looked anywhere but at Flash or Batman. Which meant mostly looking down. It took her a minute to process what she was seeing and when she did she couldn't suppress a groan of disgust.

"What the hell am I wearing?" She whispered, horror seeping in to her very bones. She was dressed in a short pink, pleated skirt, with a matching tracksuit zip-up sweater, which was open to display a cute white t-shirt with an embroidered flower across the lower left part. It set off her chocolate skin to perfection, and was very girly and very cute.

_And very, very NOT me!_

Again no answer. It was starting to feel rather lonely in her own head.

"Are you ok?" Flash asked, one of his hands still maintaining a grip on her upper arm, in case she fell again.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit of a misunderstanding about… uh, just a misunderstanding." Jay looked up at him, hoping like hell he wouldn't ask for any clarification.

"Right then. Nothing wrong with bringing your own entertainment." Flash said with a wink at Jay. "If there's no more show for the moment, let's go."

Jay hesitated. "Where are we going?"

"To the park. There's a fair." Flash said this as if it was a perfectly normal thing for a superhero to be at a park the day after there'd been a major theft and a breach in the watchtower security systems.

"Shouldn't we be working?" Jay asked, sending Batman a hopeful look.

"Hey, even Bats here takes a break." Flash answered. "Don't you Bats?"

Batman glared at Flash. "Not really."

"Whatever. Bats is old and boring." Flash grinned at Batman to take the sting out of it, which was unnecessary since Batman was already back to work. "We're still young. Let's go."

"Since you're going to be in Central City…" Batman started.

"No, Bats! Day off!" Flash whined.

"Since you're there," Batman continued, "You can check out this address. It's a warehouse that may or may not be linked to this organization. Sat pictures don't show anything suspicious, but I'd like you to confirm it."

Jay reached forward for the note, relieved to actually have a purpose in going. "Sure, no problem."

Flash rolled his eyes, obviously aware when he'd lost an argument. "We'll call you if there's anything. Maybe we'll call you anyway. It's just so nice to chat to you Bats."

---

Jay kicked some trash out of the way to get to the warehouse doors. Since this was work she'd managed to call out the other two, and a short argument later had convinced Psychotic to change them back into their usual outfit.

_Though how much of an improvement that is, I couldn't tell. _

_I cannot believe you managed to get work on a date. _

_It's not a date. _

"Just because Bats doesn't know how to relax, why's he got to make everyone else work all the time?" Flash grumbled as he helped pull out a rusted container.

"It is a serious case. We're in a lot of trouble." Jay pointed out sensibly. "The Justice League as a whole, I mean."

"Hey, we're the Justice League. We'll get out of it." Flash threw over his shoulder as he pulled on the warehouse door. It was a sliding door, but the whole place was so clearly out of use that everything had rusted shut.

"But these guys are a major threat. We haven't got anything on them yet, even though they've been causing so much trouble. They always get away." Jay had been taking a closer look at the door as she spoke. She gently pushed Flash away from the door handle before using the magic to break the lock and wrench the door open a little.

"Doesn't look like there's anything in there." Flash said, having already run around Jay to the small gap Jay had a created.

"How can you see anything? It's so dark in there."

"Can you open it any further?" Flash was standing only half a meter away from her, but she kept her concentration on task. It was actually rather nice, working with someone. They hadn't bickered at all, for a change.

"Yeah, if you move away." Jay waited until Flash had moved a reasonable distance back before opening herself to the other two. Psychotic's multi coloured eyes glared at the door before a huge wedge of magic pushed the door wide open.

"There you go." Her triple toned voice sounded musical as she spoke over her shoulder, a self-satisfied grin directed at Flash.

He nodded his thanks before sprinting forward. "Whoa. This place is spooky."

Psychotic followed him in, sticking to the shaft of light coming in through the open door. The warehouse expanded out to cover a huge area, its sides and corners were left in a murky darkness. Along the centre the warehouse was completely empty, but shadows in the unlit areas suggested at long stretches of work table, and some cages in the corner.

"What is this place?" Psychotic asked, sending a beam of light to illuminate an empty workbench.

"Whatever it is, they desperately need the help of a decorator." Flash answered, eliciting a snicker from Psychotic.

"I don't think a decorator could help much. There's only so much you can do with a warehouse."

Flash stopped short and turned to look at Psychotic. He was smiling, but it was a gentler smile than his usual one. "I think that's the first joke I've heard you make."

Psychotic shrugged uncomfortably.

"Of course, you could do with some training. It wasn't very good." Flash laughed, dispelling the slight tension Psychotic had been feeling.

"Hey! That's rich, coming from you!"

"My jokes are comedy gold."

"You wish!"

Flash laughed derisively before doing a quick run around the warehouse, keeping his eye out for anything unusual. The place was empty. If there had been anything in there, it was long gone.

He looked up at Psychotic, still hovering in her lilac forcefield, squinting uselessly into the darkness.

"This place is a dead end." He announced. "Now can we go to the park?"

Jay released the magic and set down, the warehouse becoming murkier now that her magic wasn't setting off a glow. She rolled her eyes, but followed Flash out.

---

"So, has the city changed since you were last here?"

Jay glanced around Central City's main park, marveling at the families playing, the sun shining down on the fountain spouting merrily opposite the bench they were sitting on, eating ice cream. They kept being disturbed by people coming up to greet Flash, ask for his autograph, things like that. It had made for an interesting walk. Once they'd sat down on the bench there'd been an influx of people clamoring for autographs, but things had quieted down now. Luckily there was no media of any sort, though Jay didn't know how much longer that would last. Flash was obviously used to going around Central City like this, letting the attention slide off him like water off a duck's back. Luckily no-one had recognized her at all. Jay just watched Flash as he joked and cajoled people into leaving them alone. She gave a dismissive shrug. "Not really the sort of place I came often when I was living here."

"You didn't come to the park?" Flash asked incredulously.

"I came a couple of times, mostly after it was shut. It's a good place to let off steam. I ran away here once. I managed to hide out for nearly two weeks – you know the playground with the sandpit near the East gate? There are these bushes behind it where an 11 year old can make a pretty decent hideout."

"You were alone in the park for two weeks?" Jay didn't notice the sympathy Flash couldn't keep out of his voice as he said this.

"It was a pretty good two weeks. No-one to order me around, and I didn't have to care when a little bit of magic suddenly let rip. There was no-one to notice me."

"What happened?"

Jay shrugged. "I wasn't very good at getting food. I got hungry and made my way back to the social services. I saw a lot of things, here in the park at night. I didn't want to get in that sort of trouble. Even at 11 I knew I was better off in foster care than alone in the world." She smiled across at Flash, but looked away quickly. She didn't notice the strain in his answering expression.

Jay finished off her ice cream and leant back against the warm bench. It was nice, sitting here in the sunshine. Even Flash wasn't infuriating her as much as he normally did. Truth be told, it wasn't so bad hanging out with him these days. Her anger had always been illogical, but now she'd got to know him a bit she was coming to realize that he wasn't the sort of guy that would knowingly leave a kid in misery. None of the Justice League would.

"Hey mister Flash!" Another kid ran up and started babbling excitedly at Flash. He grinned down at the boy, started joking around, mussed the boy's hair. The man clearly loved children.

She closed her eyes as she mused. She still felt anger and humiliation at the way she'd had to grow up. None of it had been a pleasant experience, especially not with a voice in her head and magic budding since before she could remember. A plague of strange incidents had followed her around her whole life, and it had made getting adopted impossible. Even considering that the older you got the less likely it was, anyway. There'd been only one time she'd even come close to getting adopted. She'd been twelve, and this man had come over to her foster home at the time. He'd been tall, handsome, dressed in a really swish business suit. She'd reacted with all the caution and reserve every foster kid displayed, but he'd been warm, gentle, cajoling. She was desperate to be adopted by him by the end of that hour. He'd patted her on the head before he left.

_I don't know how great he was. There was something weird about him. _

_Nice to have you back. Did you sulk long enough, do you think?_

_Hey, we changed your clothes for you, didn't we? Anyway, I thought you'd appreciate a bit of peace and quiet._

_Yeah well. Just not too much of the stuff, please. _

That pat had been a little strange. For a brief second it had really stung above her right ear. She didn't know why she'd always remembered that, but she did. It was the only unpleasant part of one of the happier hours of her childhood.

_I reckon we could always feel something over our ear after that. You always say it's just a normal every day bump, but you know there might be something there._

Her other self had gone a little crazy for a while after that. Insisting they had a chip or something in their head. Too many sci fi movies, as far as Jay was concerned.

_We hardly ever watched movies growing up. Anyway, you'd never believe me. _

_We had no way of ever checking. Fancy walking in to a hospital and saying "hey, I think I have a chip in my ear. X-ray my head will you?" _

_Whatever._

Jay felt a tap on her shoulder, pulling her out of memory lane. She opened her eyes and looked across at Flash. He looked a little odd.

_Sad. He looks sad._

Jay sat up abruptly, concern shooting through her. Sad was such an unusual emotion to see on Flash.

"Is everything ok?" She asked. He never broke eye contact, his expression remaining serious. It was freaking her out.

"I'm sorry." His voice came out soft. She'd never heard it so solemn.

"For what?"

"For not saving you."

And just like that all her anger melted away. How could she stay mad at this man? When he was looking so sad and apologetic for something he'd had no control over? He'd accepted her completely, never once doubted her, and now he was apologizing to her for a wrong that anyone else would have dismissed as illogical. It touched her in a way nothing else had.

She reacted by doing something she'd never done to another person in the entirety of her life. She leant forward and gave Flash a hug.

"Thank you." She said, smiling as she sat back. Flash looked mildly embarrassed, and truth be told, she was starting to feel uncomfortable as well. So she bounced up, squinted at the sunset and said something vague about it getting late. A quick call to the watchtower, and seconds later she was home.


End file.
